The Game
by ainosenshiweb
Summary: Ginny and Harry are no longer together, and Malfoy offers an alternative: get back at Harry - will she accept it? Takes place after the 6th book. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story takes place after Harry broke up with Ginny and in an AU world where Harry, Ron and Hermione did attend Hogwarts the next year.

The Game

As I lay in my bed as my thoughts were blurred. Nothing seemed right in the past few weeks. Everything – my mind, my heart and my soul – was in shambles. I couldn't think, eat, or sleep properly at all. I was told it would be all right, that I would recover from this torturous experience, but I couldn't see how. My life had been ripped apart in front of my own two eyes, and I could not bear every second afterwards.

All I could see when I closed my eyes were Harry's eyes – green as emeralds and endlessly deep in nature. All I could hear were the words _"Ginny, listen... I can't be involved with you anymore."_

Everything I had done after that day was hazy. I ate my food, did my homework and walked around like a soulless vessel. Every colour may have been grey, every conversation may have not taken place and every word of comfort may have been a word of bitter hatred and I still wouldn't have noticed.

Hermione had understood and she comforted me endlessly. She helped me in ways that I could not expect from even the kindest person. She was the one who would wake me in the mornings, the one who would constantly tell me everything would be all right one day, and tell me that I should eat when the thought of eating was meaningless. It was only her that got me through the days and I could not ask for a better girlfriend for Ron.

Ron himself had been saddened by this. His best mate had just broken up with me, and he felt responsible for protecting me. The situation had also strained his relationship with Harry somewhat.

Six months had past since that day and ever so slowly the searing pain had transformed into a dull numbing pain. I felt as if a cloud of despair was hanging over me, and there was nothing I could do to overcome it.

Worse still was the fact that Michael Corner had tried to comfort me on several occasions. He tried to comfort me because he wanted to show that he had truly cared for me and still did today, albeit in a different way. I understood that he had meant well and that he had no intentions of returning as my boyfriend. The problem was that I couldn't help but feel that I had misused my time with him. I would rather have spent my time around Harry than dating him, and he was well aware of this fact.

Six months turned to seven and it was December. Although one would think that the snow and cloudy skies would worsen my state it had the opposite effect. It seemed as if the weather was matching my mood and as if someone was finally validating my feelings. I felt secure when there was snow outside my window. Although I was nowhere near normal, I felt the tiniest fraction sunlight through the cloud that hung over me. For the first time in several months the smallest hint of a smile curved my lips.

I was walking down the corridors to my next class. If it were possible, even the Slytherins had stopped taunting me since September. I was so lifeless that none of their insults would work and they simply gave up. I had felt almost as if I had won against them, and it was the only silver lining to my mood.

Colin Creevy sat next to me in class. My mood had been so off lately that I had put a damper even on his enthusiasm. When he sat down he smiled slightly toward me, looking unhopeful, and then listened to the lecture. Transfiguration was interesting enough that he could become absorbed in the material and ignore me for the most part. He didn't appear to be mad at me and seemed as if he just wanted to give me space. I would have to thank him for that afterwards.

When a student accidentally transformed McGonagall's hat into a swan, I actually began to smile. It was quite comical to see the usually stern and uptight professor have a bird sitting on her head, and even funnier to see the look on her face. I wish I had a photo of it.

Colin looked toward me as if he had just seen a blue moon. Then he too began to smile, but didn't start a conversation. I would have to thank him for that as well.

When the class had ended, I still didn't feel like myself. Yes, I had a few good moments today, but I was sure that I would just return to my former vacant state tomorrow.

For the first time in a long while, I actually looked at faces when walking down the corridors. I could see first years, some sixth years who were just in my class, some fifth years I had helped before, and many people who I didn't know. The people were no longer a blur, they now had faces, and even names in my mind. I saw that certain social circles had changed, that some people no longer had the same hair colour, and that some of the people were astonished to see that I was actually _looking_ at them as opposed to just seeing them.

I also happened to notice a pair of mildly surprised cold grey eyes looking in my direction.

_Here it comes._ I thought to myself. _Now that he knows I'm looking at him, he'll say something stupid. _I noticed that it was the first time I cared in a long time.

To my surprise, he turned away after a fraction of a second and said nothing, despite the whispering of his Slytherin coup while I was passing them.

He didn't realize it at the time, and I'm sure that if he had he never would have done it, but ignoring me that way was possibly the nicest gesture he could have done at the time.

_Well he should do something decent after all he's put me through._

_Since when have you become this petty?_ Another part of my mind replied

_Since Malfoy stepped into the world._ The first part retorted.

Okay, now I must _really_ be losing my mind.

"Weaslette!" I heard a sharp voice from behind me.

And sure enough, he had realized that he had been nice by ignoring me.

I decided that I would ignore him, the way I had been for the past so many months. Perhaps if he thought after a while that I looked up by mistake, he would just return to being the quiet prick he was.

"Blood traitor, did I just see you _looking_ at me?" He asked with mock astonishment in his voice.

_Looking at __**him**__? I would rather be caught dead. _I tried to form replies in my mind so that I could prevent myself from replying to him.

Unfortunately, he knew better. "Has all the red hair finally gone to your brain Weasley? I don't think you realize that all the money in your family couldn't buy you robes like mine."

_I would want to buy your robes to burn them._

"Ignoring me Weaslette? That's interesting. I didn't think you had the capacity. You know, seeing you moping about over pitiful Potter was very interesting."

_Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. Think about a hammer going to Malfoy's skull._

"The way you were moping about made it seem as if Potter had dumped you."

I decided to breathe in and out slowly so that I could keep my temper in control. He was beginning to hit a nerve.

"What was the matter? Did he not want you anymore? Was the poverty too much for him?"

The haze that had trapped me for so long was beginning to set in again, accompanied by the feeling of my blood boiling in hatred. I instinctively clenched my fist.

Malfoy saw my reaction and smirked. "So the smallest Weasel has finally come out of her depression? It's about time you got over Potter. Maybe if you play your cards right I'll let you look in my direction once in a while."

_I will not kill Malfoy, I will not kill Malfoy…_

"If you dump your Mudblood friend that is. I heard she's been taking care of you. Of course the Weasleys' do need a nanny to take care of them all."

I was now too angry to think, and decided to walk faster to get away from him. Unfortunately, he sped up as well.

"Has the bushy haired Mudblood been drying your tears? Telling you not to morn over pitiful Potter, the boy who _almost_ married you? If you ask me Weasley, you were lucky to get rid of him."

_I will kill Malfoy, and I will enjoy it._

"Ferret!" I turned around, finally having enough. It was one thing to insult me and my family but another to insult Harry or Hermione.

"So I finally get a reaction?" Malfoy drawled.

"You're going to get a reaction all right," I replied furiously, pulling out my wand.

I could see from my peripheral vision that everyone in the corridor had turned to look at us. I could also tell that the ones who knew me were surprised that I was actually displaying any kind of emotional response.

He withdrew his wand as well. "I am always up for a duel Weasley, even if it is against you."

"Trying to get detention with me Malfoy? Have you missed me that much? All your insults may be a way of trying to conceal your joy," I retorted knowing that I was seconds away from cursing him into oblivion.

"You should be dreaming of Galleons and having your own room Weasley," he retorted. "As much as I'm sure the idea of detention with me makes you swoon."

I almost choked. "I would rather vomit slugs Malfoy," I almost smiled at the comparison and I wasn't sure whether or not I was joking.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Weasley! What on Earth are you doing?" A familiarly stern voice could be heard from behind them.

"Nothing professor, just comparing wands," I replied, still refusing to put down my wand.

"This doesn't look like comparing Miss Weasley," McGonagall replied. "Now put down your wands!"

I looked toward Malfoy and we both lowered our wands at the same time.

"Go on to your classes," McGonagall told the other students. When they had gone she continued. "Now I don't know what is going on here, but it is not adequate behaviour for two upper year students to be nearly dueling in the corridors! Twenty points each from Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"Yes professor," I replied grudgingly, knowing that Malfoy had instigated me.

"I am very disappointed in you Ginny, although it is good to see that you are feeling better," McGonagall remarked. "Now, go in opposite directions to your next classes, and I do not want to hear anymore about you two."

Malfoy was unusually quiet throughout the whole disciplinary action and left quickly.

_Git._ _At least I didn't get detention with him. That would have been unbearable._

To make things better, my next class was Potions.

I was still seething from the incident. I knew that Malfoy shouldn't have affected me, but I couldn't believe he would stoop so low as to mention my breakup. Not only did he do that, he ridiculed Hermione as well. _Stupid Ferret._

I quietly took my seat in class, glad that I had come a minute before class had started. I didn't want to be the center of Snape's points deductions today. I did what I usually did and blankly stared at the board as Snape lectured us about the potion we would be preparing today. Now that my anger was beginning to die down, I felt even more depressed than usual. Honestly, even the mention of Harry's name hurt me. The hole in my heart seemed to return and it felt hollower now if that were possible. I suddenly felt very tired even though I had overslept. It almost felt as if I was experiencing the pain freshly all over again. I wasn't sure if I could handle it this time. It was no longer the dull numbing pain I had grown accustomed to.

"Miss Weasley, would you care to tell me the order of the roots you are to put in?"

I was caught off guard by Snape's question. He usually didn't bother to call on me in class.

"I'm not sure professor," I replied stupidly and heard the Slytherins snicker.

"Pity. Five points from Gryffindor for lack of –," he paused in his usual way to prolong the pain, "intellect."

_I'll show that git intellect. I wonder how this textbook would fit right down his throat._

I noted that I was probably taking out my sorrows though anger. Well, at least it made me feel better.

Several point detections later ("No Weasley, use lacewing flies, five points." "This potion was stirred too quickly, ten points as this is your second mistake." "A first year could cut that root better, fifteen points from Gryffindor.") the class was finally over. I practically ran out of the classroom, hoping that he wouldn't deduct anymore points. It seemed as if Snape was trying to make up for all the months that he had ignored me.

As I was running, I looked down at my book bag to make sure that I hadn't left my quills in class when I abruptly hit something hard. I was flung backwards with the impact and landed on the ground.

"Crabbe, look at this! The smallest Weasley is following me!" I heard a familiarly annoying voice call.

Malfoy's chest had been that hard? _I guess he has to make up for the lack of brain somehow._

"Come to clean my robes? I already have a house elf so the position is already filled."

I stood up and walked away. I had already cost Gryffindor about forty points today, and I was pretty sure that I'd be hated by everyone in the house if I continued to take more away. I dutifully blocked out his voice and returned to the Common Room.

I was just walking through the portrait of the Fat Lady when I heard some people talking.

"Harry, I really don't understand your reasoning," I heard Hermione's usual matter-of-fact voice. "Why would you break up with Ginny to protect her from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Don't you think she's old enough to make her own decisions?"

"Hermione, it isn't that easy. Voldemort is after me, and being with Ginny makes her more of a target."

"I realize that Harry, but think about her for a moment. She's hardly herself at all! She doesn't even know what day it is."

"I _am_ thinking of her Hermione, that's what you seem to be missing," I heard a note of agitation in his voice.

My heart stung as I turned around and walked away from the Common Room. I had been blatantly avoiding Harry ever since the breakup, and even if he had been around before, I had been too oblivious to notice. Now that I was finally regaining control of my senses, the sharp pain returned and I wished to go back to the dull numbing sensation that had plagued me only a few days ago.

I decided that I would walk around the castle for a while. I found myself being led up to the roof of the castle, and I decided that the cool winter breeze might do me some good. I walked up winding staircases until finally I had reached the roof of the astronomy tower. I walked across the lightly snow covered stone to the edge where I could see a view of Hogwarts like no other. My eyes caught the Quidditch pitch, and memories of Harry's victories returned to me. Soon I found myself remembering the first time I had met him, the days we had spent together at the Burrow, and the times we had at Hogwarts. I heard faint footsteps behind me, but I hardly registered them. As long as a dementor wasn't behind me, I could care less.

"Weaslette, on a tower, how convenient," I heard someone drawl behind me.

His voice was distant to me. If I had been in a decent state of mind, I might have cared enough to answer him.

"Are you _still_ moping over Potter?" I heard a tone of mock, or perhaps genuine, surprise in his voice.

Memories continued to come to me, and I couldn't push them away.

"I suppose that's why they put you in the house of obsessive loyalty," he continued, and I heard his voice come closer.

"Go away Malfoy," my voice was stronger than I felt, and I think he knew that as well.

"And miss the opportunity to bash Potter? I think not," his tone changed though I didn't understand why.

"I don't want to talk about this, least of all with you," my voice was filled with spite.

"Really? After all he's done to you?" he tried to egg me on. "He left you without a reason."

"He has a reason, and it's none of your business. I'm not giving information to you so that all of Slytherin house can have a laugh."

He scoffed. "You think I would do that?"

"I know you would," I replied.

"You see, this information isn't interesting enough to amuse us. Everyone knows you've been dumped, and no one cares anymore."

My anger suddenly overtook me and I reached for my wand. I was moments away from cursing him, before I remembered all the point deductions I had already caused.

"Eat grime Malfoy," I stuffed my wand into my robes and walked toward the exit.

"That was uncalled for," he reflected.

I flinched for a moment as I realized that he may have partially admitted his own mistake.

"You shouldn't be pointing your want at me Weasley, you should be working with the house elves to earn some money."

My anger returned as I spun around. When my eyes finally focused I found that I could no longer speak. Malfoy's pale skin blended with the moonlight, and his hair reflected the light perfectly. His cold grey eyes seemed to have some sort of colour in them now as they danced with mischief. His smirk seemed like a smile at the angle I was standing at. My mind went blank.

He looked back at me, eyes amused. "Like what you see?"

I snapped out of it, turned around, and left.


	2. Chapter 2

I walked quickly down the winding staircases and down the corridors until I at last saw the glorious Fat Lady's portrait. She yawned at me and rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

"Password?"

"Fickle tart!" I said too quickly.

"All right, don't get your knickers in a twist," she replied before swinging open.

I darted through the Common Room, not bothering to see who was there.

"Ginny!" I heard Hermione's voice call. "Is something wrong?"

I stopped briefly and looked toward her. I was relieved to see that Harry and Ron were not with her. She was studying late into the night (as usual) with various books sprawled in front of her.

"No," I answered shortly. "Everything's fine."

She gave me a look that told me she was unconvinced, but she could see nothing wrong with me. "That's good. I'm happy to see that you seem to be more-," she searched for the word, "focused."

I wanted to smile at her, but I wasn't ready to yet. "Thanks for worrying about me Hermione."

She seemed surprised at my sentiment. I could tell she didn't often have people say that to her. "No worries. Now off to bed."

I went up the staircase, changed quickly and went to bed. Everyone else in the room was already asleep.

As soon as my head hit my pillow, I turned my thoughts off. I didn't want anymore distractions.

The sun woke me in the morning. I checked my clock and saw that it was before breakfast. I wasn't expecting it to be so early since I had been sleeping in for several months. I had had an uneasy dream, but I couldn't remember what it was. I changed clothes and went down for breakfast, more alert than I had been in a long time.

I descended the staircase and saw many Gryffindors getting ready for school. I had woken up late for so many months that I hardly remembered what it was like before classes. Everyone seemed lively – Christmas break was near and the atmosphere showed it.

As I looked around the Common Room to take in the scene, my eyes caught bushy brown hair, fire red hair and then emerald eyes.

My heart stopped.

"Ginny!" I heard Michael's voice laced with amazement.

I was happy for the distraction as I pulled my eyes away.

"Morning," I told him.

"I haven't seen you up around this time much," he smiled toward me.

I simply nodded and tried to absorb myself in the conversation.

"How have you been?"

I knew he was asking this in regard to my emotional state.

"Good," which wasn't a lie, I had been getting better.

"That's good."

"Hey Michael! We need to get going!" one of his friends called.

"Sorry, I best be off. I'll see you later."

"See you," I replied. He seemed to be genuinely happy that I was looking better.

I left the Common Room and went for breakfast. I wanted to be done before the trio came along.

I ate alone since I was earlier than most. I usually sat with my friends even though I wasn't really good company.

I had double History of Magic this morning. I couldn't begin to understand why anyone would put Professor Binn's ghostly droning in the morning for a double period. I wished that the person who had schedule such a monstrosity would have to sit in class with us.

There I was, for two whole periods, as the professor went on and on about the goblin rebellion, witches' and wizards' rights, and the colours of aristocratic robes of the eighteenth century. The only thing that really kept me awake during this time was transfiguration of my quill into various other objects and a few small charms that I used to conjure flowers.

Next I had Herbology, a subject that I was decent at. I was looking forward to this class after the boredom I had just suffered. The day seemed to be getting better until Professor Sprout told us we would be feeding rats to adult piranha flowers. Apparently, the venom of the flower was required as an insecticide for the mandrakes. We did wear gloves the entire class; however it became apparent that the piranha flowers were more interested in our hands than the rats. I smiled slightly when I realized that I would rather feed the flowers than go to another one of Professor Binn's lectures.

Lunch was the usual in the Great Hall. I sat down with my friends as they talked about various things that I didn't pay attention to. Actually, I was more interested in looking at other people. I had missed some things in my last months. I noticed that some students had changed their hair, and that others had new friends. Everything seemed different to me now. I seemed to remember people's names and I was interested in things around me.

"Ginny," I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

I flinched, inhaled and then turned to face those green eyes.

"Harry," I answered calmly, trying to focus.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked in a rush, as he would when he was nervous.

As much as I tried to stop it, I had begun to hope. "Yeah, sure," I said as I began to get up. "I'll be back," I told my friends who seemed as surprised as I was.

We walked into the corridor right outside of the Great Hall, with silence between us.

"I just had to tell you something," he began in his nervous voice, with his eyes staring at the floor.

I told myself repeatedly not to take his words the wrong way.

"Actually, we're having Quidditch practice tonight," he told me quickly, obviously so as not to raise my hopes. "Hufflepuff cancelled their spot so we thought we'd get some extra time in before the Slytherin match."

"Oh, okay," I tried to sound normal as I heard that. I felt something sink inside of me.

"That's all I had to say," he finished, still not looking at me.

"I'll be there, but couldn't you have told me this at the table?" I tried to keep my voice level, but I was hurt.

"Ginny," He looked up at me now, his eyes full of sorrow. "I just wanted…," he trailed off as he raised his hand toward me. He then realized what he was doing and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he looked away from me again. "For everything," he finished before quickly walking away.

I couldn't understand why he still had such a hold over me. It had been months and yet just a conversation with him made me believe that we could be together again.

With my appetite lost, I decided I would walk though the castle. I still had a good half hour to waste, and I didn't think I would be able to study now anyway.

I walked through the castle, inattentive to where I was going. I walked down corridors and up several stairs until I found myself in front of the Room of Requirement. As I entered, I didn't see what I thought I would. The room was full of old objects that seemed to be stored from previous years. There were cabinets and chairs, but also books and strange magical objects. I knew that this was definitely not the room I had envisioned to walk into.

"Weasley? Well this is quite a surprise," I heard a familiar voice drawl.

I turned and saw Malfoy, looking quite smug.

"Looking for me? Do you need to borrow some Galleons to support your home?"

"Shut up Malfoy, you're the last person I want to see right now."

"Really? Then why is it that I keep running into you?"

"My bad luck is all," I retorted harshly. I really wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"Are you upset?"

At this point I decided to stare intently at a Remembrall placed on a table and try to block out his voice.

"_Still_ moping over Potter?"

"Quiet Malfoy or I'll curse you," I said spitefully without taking action. I thought about leaving the room, but I couldn't think of anywhere better to be at the moment.

"Weasley, it doesn't have to be this difficult," his voice was different now; I noticed that it had less of an edge.

"Would you like to make it more difficult?"

"No, not exactly," he continued in his new voice. "I was thinking more along the lines of something that would benefit us both."

"What could possibly benefit me and you at the same time?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"Well Weaslette, if you would really like to know, you can return here tomorrow," he said as he walked toward the door.

"Don't get your hopes up," I answered.

"I know the curiosity will get to you."

"Keep flattering yourself."

He laughed lightly before closing the door.

_Does that Ferret honestly think that I would fall for that?_

I looked around the room while wondering to myself what could benefit us both. I was also wondering why Malfoy would want to recall the Room of Hidden things. I checked the time with my wand and realized that I was getting late for class. I rushed out of the room and went to Gryffindor tower to collect my things.

As I sat in double Charms, I began to think about the upcoming Quidditch practice tonight. I wondered if it would still be as painful for me as it was before – seeing Harry communicate with everyone else and at the same time avoiding me. My performance in Quidditch had not been affected by the breakup. Quidditch was a form of stress relief for me and the only thing I knew I could count on. When I was on the pitch, I was someone different. It almost felt as if I were leaving behind everything else when I was out practicing, as if I were someone happier, and someone more alive. I wouldn't give that up for anyone.

_But what does Malfoy want?_ My mind asked without my willing.

_It doesn't matter._ I told myself again.

After doing fairly well on the charms we had to practice, class was over. I headed up to Gryffindor tower to put my books away and to pick up my Quidditch gear. Practice would be starting right after dinner and I didn't want to be late. I quickly ate dinner and then headed out.

"Okay everyone, there's some points I want to go over," Harry began after everyone was ready. "You all know how the season's been going and it looks like we'll probably be up against Slytherin."

I had forgotten about that. I then understood why Malfoy had wanted to see me tomorrow.

"The Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff match is the day after, and so we'll be facing one of them in two weeks time. Unfortunately, it seems as if the Hufflepuff team hasn't been too strong this year, so we'll probably be up against Slytherin. Because of this, we'll gear our strategy more toward defeating Slytherin in the next match. All agreed?"

Many members nodded their heads and some said 'yes'.

"Good. Okay, now Slytherin, as we all know, is a very aggressive team. We're going to need exceptional defenses. The Beaters will have to make sure to be on top on top of things at _all_ times, and the Chasers will have to do their best to get goals. This is a pivotal match in the season, so we have to give it our all."

Harry was very energetic when giving team speeches. It seemed as if he was trying to make us do better through his energy.

"And remember, if we don't win this match, it will be much more difficult to win the Quidditch cup down the road. Everyone got it?"

"Yes," everyone replied.

"Good. Anyway, we should probably get flying now," Harry said before kicking off.

Practice was long and hard, but I liked it. Riding on a broom seemed to completely relax me. Harry seemed to be pushing everyone to practice hard, just like he would before every Slytherin match.

When practice was over, I returned to Gryffindor tower. I decided to sleep immediately. It had been a long day. As I lay on my bed, I couldn't help but think about Harry. Quidditch practice may have been all right for me, but afterward it was always difficult. It was almost as if every time I would begin to recover, I would see Harry again and have to start over. I tried not to think of him as I forced myself to sleep.

Care of magical creatures was interesting the next day. Hagrid had somehow managed to get a hold of baby dragons for us to feed.

"Hagrid, how did you manage to get dragons onto school grounds?" I asked him curiously. "Aren't they forbidden?"

Hagrid seemed mildly surprised at the fact that I was actually talking without being spoken to. "Dumbledore gave me the permission. He said as lon' as they were babies and that I had 'em off the property as soon as class was over, I was okay. He'll be checking me of course, good old Dumbledore. I'm also glad to see that yer doing better," he added with a smile.

"Yes," I nodded my head back. I still wasn't ready to smile at anyone yet.

Other classmates of mine also seemed surprised that I had taken some interest in class. I could see that Dean was one of them.

"Oh Ginny, are you feeling better?" Luna asked me, seemingly happy about my recovery.

"A bit," I replied truthfully, in hopes that she wouldn't prod at me too much.

"That's really good," she seemed genuinely happy. "Maybe now we can look for someone else for you."

The comment stung slightly, but I was more than able to handle it. "Thanks Luna, but I think I'll focus on my work right now."

"Okay," she answered, seeing that I still wasn't ready yet.

As I was talking to her I accidently wasn't looking properly at the baby dragon I was feeding. As I turned to look at it, it released a small spew of fire directly at my hand. I yelped slightly as the burning sensation caught a few of my fingers.

"Dodger! Bad dragon!" Hagrid came over and picked the dragon up. I shouldn't have been surprised that he had named it as well. "Ginny, I'm really sorry 'bout that," he said to me as he stroked the dragon's head lightly. "Let me see that," he inspected it for a few seconds. "Oh, that's pretty good, he didn't get yer too badly. Madame Pomfrey will be able to patch yer 'and up in no time."

I turned away and began to walk toward the hospital wing. I wasn't too disappointed to miss class; at least everyone would stop looking at me with mildly bewildered expressions.

"Oh dear, what do we have here," Madam Pomfrey inspected my mild injury for a moment. "Baby dragon? Must be Hagrid," she said without any explanation from me. "Well, this is going to be a bit more difficult seeing as you got this from a magical creature. Don't worry, this shouldn't take more than a few hours. Just lie on this bed and I'll be right back."

I looked around the room as she was gone. I found the white beds and curtains quite comforting. The last time I had been in the hospital wing had been for Harry when he had fractured his skull. I shook my head at myself. Apparently I couldn't even go to the hospital wing without thinking about him.

"Here you go, burn healing potion made for burns from magical creatures," she sat it down on the trolley next to me. "Now, you're going to have to drink this three times an hour, evenly spaced understand?"

"Yes Madame Pomfrey," I replied with a grimace. The liquid she had poured into the cup didn't seem too appetizing.

"Never mind the taste, it'll get you fixed," she responded to my expression.

Another student then entered the hospital wing and the colour of their skin told me that they were more in need of help than I was.

As I drank the liquid, it felt stranger than it looked. It was very bitter, but when it went down it made you want to shiver. It made sense – it was probably to cool the magical burn.

After a few times of the potion, it seemed better to taste. I lay in my bed, happy to just get some rest and have an excuse for it. Many students in Gryffindor tower had been giving me pitying looks when I would try to rest there or they would whisper to one another. It was quite off-putting.

An advantage to staying in the hospital wing was getting to have your food in bed. I enjoyed that too seeing as I had always preferred to eat privately (eating in a house with six brothers would make anyone this way).

It was 1:00 when I had finished my treatment. I felt as if I had never been burned to begin with. I thanked Madam Promfrey and left the hospital wing happy. I felt as if I had more energy now thanks to the time alone.

_What about the Room of Requirement?_

I had been trying to suppress that thought for the few hours I was healing, but to no avail.

_Something that we both like, what could it be?_

I continued to walk, trying to ignore the part of my brain that kept asking me questions. I reminded myself that he was just trying to see how curious I was and that I wouldn't fall for his trap.

_Only fifteen minutes left… enough time to get there._

I sighed. It seemed that my curiosity was escaping my attempts to ignore the problem. I decided that I would walk toward the room but not go in so that I could fool my curiosity into thinking it had won.

_I know you will go in._

Stupid curiosity.

I found myself now outside the corridor of the Room of Requirement, half willing and half unwilling to enter. My resilient stubbornness refused to give into Malfoy's plot but my Gryffindor courage told me that it didn't matter what kind of plot it was and that I should face it head on. Of course, I had been sorted into Gryffindor, so I knew beforehand what the outcome was going to be.

I reluctantly turned the knob and found the familiar Room of Hidden Things. As I walked in, I found Malfoy staring out the window on the far side of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah, Weaslette, I told you your curiosity would compel you," he drawled with a satisfied look on his face as he turned and took a few steps toward me with a smirk.

"Quiet Malfoy," I said with contempt. "I am only here of my own free will."

"Yes, and at the correct timing as well," he added sarcastically.

I didn't reply, I had suddenly become interested in a set of broken tea cups that happened to be spinning in mid-air.

"So you _are _interested in what I have to say," he took a few steps closer, but he was still relatively far. It seemed he wanted to see my expressions first hand.

"Not really," I answered calmly, so as not to give him the satisfaction of seeing my anger. "I simply want your answer to the riddle."

"Riddle?" he replied, feigning ignorance.

"Something that would benefit both you and I," I replied coolly.

"Ha, you think it's simple don't you?" he replied quickly before turning back around to look at an object on a table close to him.

"Simple? Nothing that solves your riddle could be simple," I answered undaunted. "I can think of nothing that would benefit us both."

"Of course, Gryffindors could never look past themselves to find anything to benefit anyone else," he drawled.

I noted the tone of seriousness in his voice. He wasn't acting quite like himself right now. He was more reserved and less amused by our encounter than he usually would be.

"What I want is revenge," he answered. "And I believe that is what you want as well."

"Revenge?" I should have known that was what he was after. I internally scolded my curiosity and courage. For once I wished I had been in Ravenclaw. I would have been able to have seen this coming if I had just used my brain.

"Yes, I assume that you understand what I mean now."

Unfortunately I did understand, and I felt like an idiot.

"Do you really believe that I would allow you to use me as a tool so that you could get revenge on Harry?" I asked through gritted teeth. I couldn't believe what a waste of time this was.

"Weaslette, you are forgetting something. Why would I need to get revenge on Potter?"

I didn't have to think to answer that question. "Because he is everything you despise. He is famous and kind, he has everyone's attention, he is fair to everyone, and completely against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Fair Weasley? _Fair?_ Would you like me to detail how fair Potter is?" Malfoy now came closer to me, looking into my eyes. "How fair was he when he didn't give you a choice? How fair was he when he left you?"

"That is none of your business," I answered sharply, mildly stung. "My life is none of your business!"

"Isn't it? Then why are you here? Isn't it because you'd like an answer? By coming here you have made it my business."

"You are full of yourself Malfoy," I answered, fighting down my rage.

"If you could see past your emotions Weasley, you would see that I am right. He hurt you to protect you from the Dark Lord. Did he give you a choice? Did he consider you an equal at the time? No, the only thing he could see was his own irrational desire, which is common in your house."

"What makes you think that is the reason we split up?" I retorted too angry to be saddened at the moment.

"Knowing Potter's heroics that's the only plausible reason," he rolled his eyes and turned away from me.

"You don't have a clue," I replied with spite.

"Weasley," his voice changed slightly. "You don't need to go on like this."

"Oh yes, allow me to become your puppet in order to destroy Harry Potter," I snapped back.

"I don't need to get revenge on Potter, you do."

"Yes, I should listen to everything you say because you don't need revenge, you simply need to help me and in turn get your revenge. How gullible do you think I am?" I was angry and exasperated.

"If I were looking for someone gullible, I would be knocking on Creevy's door," he continued.

"Yes, but Creevy wasn't his girlfriend was he?" I was trying to resist the urge to hex him.

"In a few days you may come to understand what I am saying," he seemed calm.

"Not in a century ferret," I turned toward the door, realizing that I should leave before I got more house points deducted.

"You and I are more alike than you think Weasley," he told me before I left.

"You're going to find out how different we are if you don't shut up," I countered.

"When you are more reasonable, I will finish this discussion," his voice had a note of ending.

I slammed the door before I could give him a few choice words I had been holding back. I walked toward Gryffindor tower, angry at both him and myself for being fooled that easily.

After angrily giving the Fat Lady the password, I practically stomped into the Common Room.

"Ginny, what's wrong with you?" Ron seemed puzzled at my actions. He had obviously not seen that I had been getting better.

"Nothing Ron, I have to sleep," I snapped at him without meaning to. I was just really angry at the moment.

I walked up the stairs to the dormitory.

"Well, at least she's feeling _something_," I heard him say to Hermione.

Hermione didn't sound as pleased.

I lay on my bed for a few moments. I knew I didn't have much time before my next class but I really needed to calm down.

_How fair was he when he didn't give you a choice? How fair was he when he left you?_

Malfoy's voice rung in my mind and I tried hard not to hear it.

_Did he give you a choice? Did he consider you an equal at the time? No, the only thing he could see was his own irrational desire._

Malfoy had said everything I had been trying to suppress for all these months. I had tried to tell myself again and again that Harry had had good intentions and that this had all happened because he had tried to protect me. The problem was that there was always a part of me that didn't want to accept his decision and a part of me that resented him for it.

My biggest problem with the breakup was that Harry had never discussed the issue with me. If he had asked me my opinion, perhaps I would have felt better about it. He had made me feel helpless in our relationship when he broke things off so quickly. I had never even seen it coming.

I wasn't mad at Malfoy for bringing up issues I had never thought of. I was mad him for bringing up issues that I had tried to avoid. I was mad at him because now I would have to face my emotions as opposed to simply staying in a state of blissful sorrow. I was mad because now I wasn't sure what I felt toward Harry, and that scared me.

I knew that Malfoy was trying to use me to get to Harry, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that a part of me was willing to hurt Harry the same way that he had hurt me. I had subconsciously plotted the same thing Malfoy had wanted to set into motion, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to stop myself now that I had the opportunity. Yes, I did love Harry, but I had also been hurt by him.

And now, thanks to Malfoy, I could never return to my sorrow filled cocoon that had protected me from my emotions. Now he had consciously brought my bad emotions to the surface, I could no longer ignore them.

I didn't truly wish to hurt Harry. What I wished was that he would feel some of my pain so that he would return to me. I knew that this all must have been painful for him, but I felt that it had been worse for me. He had known what he was about to do and he had been prepared for it. I, on the other hand, had been completely blindsided.

I gathered my books for my next class, went down the staircase, and quickly walked through the Common Room without looking up. I didn't want to see emerald eyes right now, not just yet.

The rest of the day went pretty normally. Muggle studies was quite interesting for once. We had begun studying objects related to electricity, which was fascinating to me. I never knew that muggles could be so imaginative, even though my dad was constantly talking about them.

The next day passed simply as well. I noticed that I was getting better, and faster than I had hoped. I actually smiled at some of my friends' jokes today and they were starting to include me in the conversations as well.

As was expected the day after, Hufflepuff did lose to Slytherin. I had been cheering for Hufflepuff the entire time of course (as was Ravenclaw) but the Firebolt brooms of the Slytherin team proved to be too fast for Hufflepuff to handle. I had also noticed that Slytherin's team had improved strategically. They were relying less on brute force and more on skill ever since Malfoy had become their captain.

I also couldn't help but notice Malfoy's happiness after catching the Snitch, and I could have sworn he smirked at me. I turned away.

I had been thinking unusually clearly these past few days about the situation between Malfoy and me. I now knew what I was going to do.

I found myself in front of the Room of Requirement after dinner that night. I knew this wasn't the usual time that I would meet him there, but I wasn't here only to see him. I had found that my life had become systematic since the breakup with Harry, and I found myself wanting to do something different for a change. I was getting tired of only going to classes and Gryffindor tower all the time.

When I opened the room, I was not met with the Room of Hidden things; instead there were deep green carpets and silver tapestries hung on the walls. The room had somehow magically enlarged itself and there was a long corridor leading to a room at the end. The walls were made of slabs of stone instead of wood as well. I noticed that it looked like the Slytherin common room.

"Ah, you've come after all Weasley," I heard his familiar voice drawl and felt his eyes shift toward me.

I ignored him as I continued to look around the room. There were various book shelves filled with books on potions and defence against the dark arts. He seemed to be doing his homework.

"I never thought I would see you doing anything productive ferret," I answered after looking at some of his books.

"I didn't get to my seventh year simply by looking good Weaslette," he responded, now getting up from his books. I could tell that he didn't like other people watching him while he was working. He probably thought it destroyed his image.

"Shouldn't you be studying in your common room?" I asked. I couldn't imagine him in the library of all places.

"I could ask you the same thing," he responded, "but it seems as if your curiosity has led you here again."

"My curiosity isn't that strong," I answered. He seemed to be working on complex potions.

"So, have you finally decided to avenge yourself from Potter?"

"Yes, I'm here for that purpose only," I rolled my eyes and turned away from him.

"Then why are you here?"

That question struck me. I had initially convinced myself that I had come here out of sheer boredom, but now I wasn't so sure.

(10/03/10) I decided to tell him the truth (or part of it) as I knew it now, "I was bored."

A small laugh issued from his lips. His laughter was surprisingly appealing, or at least it would be if I wasn't Ginny Weasley.

"You and I are more alike than you think," he commented, circling his books. He seemed to be looking at them as if he wanted to continue studying but didn't want me to notice it.

"You mean more alike than two legs, a head, and a heartbeat? I think not," I took a large book off of the shelf. The title read _A Comprehensive History of the Dark Arts._

"If we weren't, then you wouldn't be considering my offer," he spoke with his eyes still on his textbook as he stood beside it.

I paused for an instant. Could he possibly read me that well? No, he had probably just assumed I was considering it because I had come here.

"I am not considering your offer," I retorted after a moment. I opened the book to the table of contents.

"Really? Then what other business would you have here?" he continued reading.

I didn't know he had the ability to multitask so well. "This room is for any student that requires it, not just for plotting against Harry Potter."

"Weaslette," he looked up and unfortunately caught me looking in his direction as I finished my sentence. "I know you've thought about my suggestion. In fact, it might have occurred to you before I even brought it up."

I was beginning to get the feeling of someone who has been caught doing something they shouldn't.

"You think so?" I deflected, looking at the book. Unsurprisingly, the book had two parts: one part that covered before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came and one part for after.

"It's only expected that after someone has been hurt, they'd want revenge," he continued.

"A Slytherin would think that way," I countered as I began to flip to the beginning of the book.

"A human would; however, considering the saintly way you handled the break up, you may not be human."

Even though I had been recovering quickly in the past few days, it was still a painful topic for me to discuss.

"Look Malfoy, I didn't come here to discuss this," I surprised myself with that statement.

"Really? So then you came to talk about other things?" he smirked toward me, and I noticed that his smirk wasn't quite even.

I again had the feeling of someone who had been caught doing something they shouldn't have.

"No, of course not," I turned to the first chapter, whose title was the name of a wizard I had never heard of. "As I've said before, I came here out of sheer boredom."

"You find me interesting then?" he continued with that smirk on his face.

"No, just infuriating."

"So then you came here, out of boredom, to deliberately infuriate yourself?"

"Yes, that's exactly it," I agreed with him so that he wouldn't continue on with this matter any further. I _had_ come because I was curious, but I didn't want to admit that to him.

He laughed lightly. "I guess Gryffindors will do anything not to get bored."

I decided to ignore him and continue reading the book. It seemed that he had given up pretending to study and actually sat down to do it properly. I continued to read the book on a table next to his because it ended up being interesting. I had completely lost track of time before I realized that I only had a half hour before my next class. I closed the book, magically put it back on the shelf and ran for the door.

"Don't forget Weasley, I will be here if you ever agree."

I didn't reply to that as I ran out the door.

As I walked back to my dormitory to collect my books, I couldn't help but wonder what had compelled me to go see him. Yes, I knew that it was because I was curious, but I thought I would have a little more self-control than that. Was I really bent on revenge? The thought crossed my mind, but I decided I wasn't. It's not as if I went there to get back at Harry. I wondered about my reasons for several minutes as I walked through the long and populated corridors. Was I really just bored? Well, partly but I had lots of school work to do that could have compensated for my boredom. I thought about my friends and wondered why I wouldn't have gone to them. I then understood why I had gone to Malfoy.

Apparently, Draco Malfoy understood me more than any of my friends, even Hermione.

Yes, that was it. He was someone who understood my pain, and not only in a sympathetic way. He understood that I could have bitter feelings without being a bad person. If I had told anyone else that I had once thought to get back at Harry, I would have met with immediate disapproval along with shock. They probably would have told me that I had no right to even say such a thing. Harry was mildly idolized among the Gryffindor, and I probably would have offended them. Malfoy was the only one who could possibly understand, even though he did have his own reasons to.

I was mildly mortified at the thought that my family's arch nemesis was so good at understanding me. Unfortunately, I was also slightly grateful that someone did.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I was really busy with school. Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter. Tell me what you think of it.

* * *

Unfortunately over the next few days my workload had become so heavy that I couldn't spare a minute of time. It seemed that all my professors had suddenly realized that they were not assigning enough work to keep us up all night and decided that now would be a good time to get everything done.

When I entered a class (I was honestly so busy that I hardly remembered which it was) I heard an unusual amount of whispering. Yes students were usually chatty, but not to this extent. I took my seat beside Colin and asked what was happening.

"Oh, don't you know Ginny? There's a rumour that the professors are debating about whether or not to let us go to Hogsmeade."

"What? Even with all of this going on?" If there was one thing I had learned about Hogwarts after all these years, it was that the rumours _were_ often true (even if they were wildly distorted). My break-up had proved that well.

"I know! I didn't think they would either but it's only a rumour," he replied slightly dejected.

"Attention class," McGonagall suddenly appeared in the front of class, or so it had seemed to me. "It seems that you are all quite talkative today. I might as well dispel any rumours that may be flittering about for you to hear."

Flittering? Really? What a word.

"Yes, it is true that the professsors have been debating about whether or not to allow the students to go to Hogsmeade. I can assure you that no lower-year students will be permitted; however upper-years like yourselves may find yourselves pleasantly surprised."

There was an instant jolt of conversation in the classroom.

"Very well then, since I have disclosed this information I expect you to stay attentive during this class. That includes you Mr. Corner who seems unable to keep himself quiet."

"Sorry professor," he answered immediately, flushing a bit.

"Alright, today we will be transfiguring…"

When class was over, I yet again had a mountain of work. Throughout the class the students had been trying to get McGonagall to say more about the trip to which she instantly started deducting House Points.

I had known where I would go the minute class was over. All this studying in the past few days had made me bored. I smiled. My boredom would be the death of me.

I walked halfway down the hall when I heard a voice call my name.

"Ginny! Wait," Mike called to me.

"Oh, hi," I turned around surprised.

"McGonagall kept me after class for a few minutes," he smiled embarrassingly.

"Okay," I was having a hard time understanding why he would be talking to me at this point.

"How have you been doing? Anything new?"

"No, not much," well except for making my arch nemesis my acquaintance, not really much.

"That's good," he replied shortly.

This was quite obviously a conversation with no place to go, and I still had a hard time understanding why he was going out of his way to be nice to me. Then I remembered what a bad condition I had been in for six months.

"How about you? Anything new?"

"Not really, except that I have been selected as vice-captain of the dueling club," he told me proudly.

"That's great news," I struggled for a way out of this conversation. "Er- well," I was almost willing to pull the 'I have too much homework' excuse, but I knew that would be rude considering how much he had helped me through my time of need.

"Mike! I've been looking all over for you!" I heard someone call him.

"And there's the captain," Michael told me. "I should get going, see you Ginny!"

I was happy to be out of that situation. Really, what did he want?

Yet again my boredom took over, but I decided against seeing Malfoy. I really did have a lot of work to do and Potions coming up as well.

Many hours later after writing at least twenty pages of essays and potion lists, I had finally determined that I had done a sufficient amount of work to warrant some sleep. I was shocked to see the time and happy that I had a spare period first thing tomorrow.

As I lay in my bed, I couldn't sleep. For some reason memories of Harry kept coming back to me. The sleep deprivation and stress had finally taken its toll on me. His memories weren't as painful to me anymore – they were tolerable. I tried to sleep for at least an hour before I gave up.

I went to the Room of Requirement knowing that no one could possibly be there at this time of night. I actually wanted to read that book on the Dark Arts I had been reading the other night. Maybe it would somehow help me in the future if I were to fight in the war. I was sure Hermione would be proud.

When I opened the door I was surprised to find a replica of the Slytherin Common Room. A blonde figure lay sleeping on top of his books. I could hardly believe Malfoy to be _that_ studious, but it was him.

I decided I would just take the book on the Dark Arts out of the room and read it in my dormitory. After all, it would be awkward if he woke up to find me here at this time of night.

I walked carefully over to the shelf to find the book, but it wasn't there. I realized that it must have been on the desk in front of him. I went over to check for it.

"Weaslette?" he was up instantly.

"You're awake?" I was confused as to how he could have woken so quickly.

"They have spells for everything," he replied. "How else do you think all those wizards slept soundly during wizarding wars?"

Now that I had thought about it he had a point.

"What are you doing here at this time?" his implicative tone had returned.

"I can't sleep so I need that book," I pointed to it.

"I see. Since you obviously came here at this time to see me are you sure that's _all_ you want?" he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Well I was hoping you wouldn't be here and that if you were, you'd be petrified."

"Yes at 3:00 in the morning," he continued his ego trip.

"I don't know if you're delusional or trying to be funny," I answered annoyed while reaching for the book.

He took it before I could get it. "A Gryffindor never really can understand a Slytherin can they?"

"For once I'd have to agree with you," I replied flatly trying to find a way to get the book.

He stood up and walked around the desk. "What is it that is so interesting about this book? Can't you find one in the library?"

"Not at this time," I answered, trying my best to keep my temper level, "and this book has information that those books omit."

"Yes, it would. And I assume you're writing an essay for which you need this?"

"No, I just wanted to read it now and since when do I need to tell you why I need things?"

"Since you're in _my_ Common Room."

"More like the Room of Requirement."

"Yes which I am in."

"At 3:00 in the morning!"

"I'm not the one who came in here at this time," he replied coolly.

"If you're just going to annoy me I'll leave because right now I'm too tired to have the self-restraint necessary not to curse you."

"Curse me? You don't have the backbone."

"Don't I?" I reached for my wand, only to realize I had left it in the Common Room since I thought there would be no one in this room right now.

"Really Weasley? You forgot your wand before you came here? You're ready to be _that_ vulnerable when around me?"

"Eat toads Malfoy. I never thought you would be here at this time."

"Really?" he drawled, taking a few steps closer with the book. "You're _that _confident that I won't do anything to you?" he answered oblivious to my previous statement.

"Oh yes, because you're really going to try something right now-"

Before I knew it, Malfoy had pinned me against the cold stone wall.

I couldn't believe he would have the audacity to do this.

"You bastard, let me go-"

"Have I ever told you," his voice instantly changed to a barely audible melodic whisper, "that I have wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you?"

I inhaled quickly, stunned. His tone left no room for doubt.

"That when you were in Potter's arms I wanted to kill him even more?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"That you should never return to this room again without your wand because you are so suggestible that it hurts?"

I slapped him so hard I thought I had dislocated his jaw.

"You- you," tears were coming out of my eyes and I couldn't understand why.

He was silent for a moment. I looked satisfactorily over the redness I had created on his face.

"Ah," he recomposed himself, half smiling and half smirking. "So you do have feelings for me."

"Hatred is all I feel for you," I whispered.

"Is it? Is it really? You really needed this stupid book at 3:00 AM and hatred is all you feel for me?" his words were rushed and unguarded in a way I had never seen before.

"Yes! What is so hard to understand about that?" I was yelling now.

"That you come to this room out of sheer boredom!" his tone was still level, but energetic.

"Yes! That's all it is!"

"That you got over Potter because of me!"

"I did _not_ get over him because of you! I was already there!"

"Finally being able to acknowledge humans around you does not make you already there."

"Shut up Malfoy! What sick kind of game are you playing? You want me to have feelings for you? Why? To get back at Harry!"

"No," he answered flatly.

"That's a lie!" the tears streamed down my face. "You want to use me as a weapon against him."

"Is that really what you think?"

"Yes! Because you're Malfoy, Harry's enemy."

"You can't accept that you want me despite that."

"I _don't_ want you! I will never want you!"

He drew away from me and I saw that he was done. He placed the book on the table and resumed his studying.

I was angry that he had started an argument with me out of no where. I had just wanted that stupid book to read and he had to create all this fuss over it.

I took the book and briskly walked to the door.

"You come here because I engage you in conversation that no one else would dare because they're too careful around you."

I gritted my teeth and walked faster.

"You come here because I am more like you than Potter ever was."

I slammed the door and walked away. I wiped the tears away from my face. I was angry and unnerved that I had ever been that vulnerable in front of him. Who did he think he was? The fact that I could ever have feelings for that slug was beyond impossible yet alone tangible enough to say aloud! He simply filled the boring periods of my life with anger. Was it really better for me to be angry than being peaceful, bored and alone?

Unfortunately the rational part of my brain was now becoming active now that I had calmed down.

_Did you really need that book right now? Couldn't you have just read something else?_

Stupid inquisitive part of my brain. Of course I needed this book! Why the heck should I not read the book that I want to read when I want to read it? Why should I let him stop me?

_You're taking a course on Dark Arts – couldn't you have read that book instead?_

I really hated my brain right now. These damn questions just had to keep popping up into my head.

_Why do you keep going back there if you hate him so much? Even if you are infuriating yourself deliberately to get rid of your boredom doesn't that mean that some part of you wants to be there?_

Damn Gryffindor honesty. It really irritated me sometimes.

_And don't you think you were overly harsh to him?_

Don't even go there. He's done millions of things that warrant it.

_That you'll **never** want him? I mean that's the worst thing you could say to someone, even him. Everyone knows it's true, but still. Did you have to say it?_

Why did humans even have a conscience again?

My mind would truly be the death of me. I couldn't help thinking over the rationale though. I had been overly mean to him just because he had said I could possibly like him. If he wanted to be delusional shouldn't I just let him be? After all he was the only one who understood me right now in a way that no one else could.

_But why would he want me to like him?_

Revenge.

_He never needed you for that before._

I was Harry's before.

_But he honestly doesn't need you for that. There are many other ways to get at Harry._

I knew where this was going. I turned off my brain, went to my dormitory and started reading.

* * *

The next day, after a double period of History of Magic as well as an uneventful Herbology class, I was thoroughly tired. I had spent most of the night up reading that book. For some reason it was really interesting to me. Why? Well because this book didn't leave out any details, unlike the books we were made to read in class. For instance, the motivation of the wizards when starting these wars was not justifiable, but understandable. It made much more sense that Madera the witch would start the war over her lost love (unlike the classroom textbooks that would omit such details). It made so much more sense that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (I had skipped ahead) was so full of hatred for his muggle father that he now desired a race of pure bloods. Yes that had been a common fact, but the way the book described it made a person understand it all that much more.

I figured that being tired and hungry was something that must be avoided so I went down to lunch. Unsurprisingly, I was reading the book (which had almost a thousand pages in it – more than enough to keep me entertained for a while) while eating. My friends looked at me in wonder as I ignored their conversation and sat fixated on this book. I was sure they thought something strange was going on, but I had been near Tom Riddle's diary before and I was sure there was no Dark Magic in this book.

I decided on a full stomach that I might as well put the book back before I failed miserably in all my courses. I would only take it from the Room of Requirement when I needed it and when my course load wasn't so heavy.

I paused in front of the door. I had just remembered what had happened last night and I wasn't sure how to react to him now. I ignored it and decided to let my Gryffindor courage blindly lead me forward.

I opened the door and was surprised to see my Common Room. I supposed it was because there was no one else in this room.

As I put the book back on the shelf I couldn't help but wonder what the next part to Madera's story was. Slugs! I knew where this was going. I was already addicted to this book. I told myself that I would only read five pages and that was all. Twenty minutes later I realized that I had read too much and was almost late for Charms. I pushed the book back onto the shelf (the same shelf was in this Common Room as well) and was getting ready to run out the door.

"Weasley? Again?" I heard him drawl with mock (or maybe it was real) surprise in his voice.

I internally cringed. Why was it that he came here at the _end_ of lunch?

"Malfoy," I replied trying to walk past him.

He smirked. "Still on a last name basis with me Ginevra?"

I stopped and was a bit stunned. "Well yes, you're _you_."

"Not very convincing _Ginny,_" he answered surprising me more. "And did you have to make the room this awful red colour?"

"I picked it out just to infuriate you," I smiled smugly. At least he would study uncomfortably now.

"Yes, that does sound like _you_."

I was unnerved by his tone. He usually sounded more sarcastic but today he seemed more casual.

"About yesterday," dear cows why was I bringing this up? Damn guilt! "How about we just forget about it and…" he had already forgotten about it! Why did I bring this up?

He turned around and was visibly taken aback. "Are you _apologizing_ to me?"

"What? Don't be stupid," I answered quickly. "Why would I apologize to you? You've done so many things to warrant it."

"Like?" he answered while waiting with a smirk.

"You hate anyone Muggle born."

"Which doesn't have anything to do with you pure-blood," he replied.

"You're Harry's nemesis."

"Which again has nothing to with you considering you're no longer with him."

"You're a prick."

"Well, that..."

I was confused. He was actually not denying it?

"Everything you have against me," he answered. "Is something I have against others not you."

"You wish," I turned again and headed for the door.

"Really?" he drawled. "Then name one thing_ you_ have against me."

I came up blank probably because I was tired. "Everything."

"Other than the fact that I keep accusing you of having feelings for me and that your pride won't allow you to admit it."

"I'm not going through this again," my hand was on the knob now and just when I was about to open the door I was turned around and thrust into Malfoy's chest.

"Damn it Malfoy! What the heck?" I avoided his gaze so that I wouldn't kill him. I now hated non-verbal spells.

"_Ginny_," his voice was soft and alluring.

I looked up at him to give him a piece of my mind and then stopped. His features caught me off-guard. The contours of his face were better than my mind had given them credit for and his deep gray eyes were warm and entrancing – not that I was entranced. I felt the skin on my cheeks burn up.

"I'll forgive you," he said mischievously, "if you'll go to Hogsmeade with me."

What did he just say? "Eat worms Malfoy."

"Think about it," he answered slowly.

"You've lost it if you think I'd ever do something like that."

"Be cunning for once. If Potter thinks you've gone to Hogsmeade with me he'll flip. He might even come running back to you."

I stopped insulting him for a minute to think about this. He had a point – it just might work.

"He'd be furious with you," I said while trying to sort my thoughts.

"Entirely."

"So you get to infuriate him and I get to make him jealous?" I thought of that aloud.

"Essentially."

Then it clicked. "I'm not falling for this! I realize where you're trying to go with this. You're just trying to go through with your 'revenge on Potter' scheme."

"Yes, to your benefit as well."

"What makes you think I'd go along with this?"

"I was upfront with you Weaslette. That's why. If I had tried this behind your back you'd just get hot-headed, but since I told you my reasons beforehand you have no reason to get angry. _I_ am giving you a choice, unlike Potter."

I thought about that for a moment. It was true; he was actually being upfront with me just as he always had been. Now it was my decision.

"I will," I couldn't believe I was saying this, "consider your offer."

Malfoy smirked. "Maybe you _are_ human," he said as he walked to the desk with a pensive expression.

"Stuff it Malfoy," I said as I ran out the door to double Charms.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I just wanted to clarify that Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron are in Hogwarts for the purpose of this story. There was a mistake in one of the chapters previously that I fixed that may have caused confusion. I'm really sorry about the slow updates – but I will complete this story. Anyway, here's the next chappie, hope you like it!

* * *

Charms was a course that I was talented in, but today I listened to Professor Flitwick half-heartedly. My mind kept wandering. I was thinking about Malfoy's proposition. It had both benefits and downfalls.

_Benefit: Harry would hear that I was going with Malfoy and completely go ballistic, leading him to reconsider our relationship._

_Downfall: I would be getting Harry unnecessarily angry._

_Benefit: I would have a better time in Hogsmeade if I went with someone. Yes, I did have friends I could go with, but they still thought I was devastated by Harry._

_Downfall: The entire school would find out I was with Malfoy and make conjectures, not to mention rumours._

_Benefit: I could have a small token of revenge on Harry._

_Downfall: My brothers would want to beat the lights out of Malfoy._

The list went on and on in my mind. I could find no end to the benefits and downfalls. I tried to make a mental list and associate points with each benefit (as positive numbers) and downfall (as negative numbers), but I was still completely on the fence.

"Miss Weasley, could you demonstrate the silencio spell on this raven?" Professor Flitwick looked toward me. He must have seen that I had been getting better in recent weeks.

"Certainly professor," I answered as a stood up and pointed my wand toward the cawing raven. "Silencio!" I said loudly. The raven was silent, even though it continued to move its mouth.

"Excellent indeed Miss Weasley! Ten points to Gryffindor! Any student who can do a charm with so little time to master it deserves praise! For the rest of you, I will give you the remainder of this period to perfect the charm."

I smiled to myself as I thought about using that spell on Malfoy.

I heard a dull murmur through the crowd. The Ravenclaw students seemed to be impressed, but I could also tell that they were surprised that I was almost back to my usual self again.

When class was over, I heard a lively buzz throughout the halls. I wondered what all the fuss was about, and decided to listen in on people's conversations.

"Have you heard?" one student said as I passed him.

"Isn't it bloody dangerous?" another student said.

"I never thought they'd allow us!" I heard as I continued walking.

"Hogsmeade here I come!"

The professors must have approved of the upper years' visit to Hogsmeade. I now understood what the commotion was about.

"Ginny!" a familiar voice called out to me. I internally sighed at this development, but turned around to be polite.

"Oh, hey Michael," I said with a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. You're looking much better," he replied quickly. Was he nervous?

"Thank you, I'm feeling much better," I answered unoriginally. "How has the dueling club been?"

"Excellent, couldn't be better," his words were rushed.

"Great," was my one-word answer.

"Listen, Ginny, so I've noticed over the past few weeks that you've seemed much better."

"Yes, I think we've established that," I answered, still confused about what he was trying to get at.

"Ha, yes, you're right," he started blushing. "Anyway, I know that you still must have feelings for Harry…"

Bloody hell, this conversation was not going in a good direction. How could I get out of it? Just then something brilliant struck me.

"Well Michael," I cut him off mid-sentence. "The truth is that I've been putting up a front."

"A front?" he replied surprised.

"Yes. I decided that it was wrong of me to stay so isolated since I was causing many people to worry about me. Therefore, I now _act_ as if I am happy, when truthfully, I couldn't be further from it."

"Oh," he replied, unnerved.

"Yes, even to mention Harry's name is still so painful," I hung my head down slightly as if I were going to begin crying, "What am I to do? I don't want to cause pain to the people I love and care about."

"I'm so sorry Ginny," he seemed genuinely confused and nervous now. "I had no idea. If I had known I never would have – never mind. You should take more time to yourself."

"Do you think so? Yes, that might be a good idea," I tried hard to suppress my laughter at the situation. I almost felt sorry for poor Michael Corner after using such a tactic on him. I finally understood that I was somehow related to Fred and George. Truthfully, I felt as if Michael somehow deserved this kind of response for trying to pick me up after my 'devastating' breakup.

Poor Michael practically ran away after quickly spurting some goodbye remarks.

When he left I began to laugh. Now I would have to think of another way to keep him at bay next time. It was surprising to me that he would try to get back together with me even after we broke up and I made it clear that we could never be more than just friends again. I did have to admit though, I felt much better about faking depression rather than turning him down outright. That would be cruel to do to him after all his help in my time of need.

I was about to go to dinner when I realized just how close I was to the Room of Requirement and when I also realized that I had made up my mind about Hogsmeade.

I walked into the Room of Requirement expecting hunter green and silver tapestry. I found that this time, the colours had been as expected.

Malfoy looked up at me from his usually studying desk, but said nothing. He looked back down and was intently reading a book.

"Malfoy," I greeted him using his name. I couldn't bring myself to give him anymore of a greeting.

"Ginevra," he smirked. It was almost as if he knew that using my first name would make me slightly confused and uncomfortable. It was surprising to me that "Weaslette" would make me more comfortable than my first name.

"I am still contemplating your offer," I started, even though I already knew what I was going to do.

"Really?" he drawled, getting up from his desk. "You're contemplating?"

"Yes," I answered surely, even though I knew otherwise.

"I don't believe you," he answered as if he knew my thoughts.

"How so?" I replied. I could never understand what was going through that head of his.

"If you were still contemplating, Weaslette, you would not be here," he replied sure of himself. "You would wait until you had come to a decision, come here, and announce yourself."

"Really? Then by your preposition, even if I have made up my mind, you are wrong. I am not announcing myself."

"Unless," he continued after listening to me, "you agreed to go with me. In which case, you would not announce your intent because your nature would not allow it."

"Really Malfoy? You think you know me so well?" I tried to keep up my composure even though he had just read me like a book.

"All I know is that you are either contemplating accepting my proposition or that you already have."

"All I know is that you are assuming things," I replied looking for my book on the Dark Arts.

"Really? Would you like to say that after drinking some truth serum then?" he jested.

"Stuff it Malfoy," I turned around to face him. He was closer than I had expected, only four feet away.

"So Weaslette, what will it be? Are you coming?" he drawled.

I noticed something different about his air, but I couldn't pinpoint it. His eyes, though they did have his usual devilish humour, were somehow softer and his face was calmer than I had ever seen it before.

"I think that I should respond to that tomorrow," I answered. I couldn't understand why I didn't just tell him my answer.

"So you _are_ coming," he smugly smirked.

"_No,_ I never said that," I replied.

"But you never denied it," he retorted.

"I have not answered," I reiterated.

"Which for you means yes," he continued smirking. "You are so hot-headed, that if you were not going, you would openly declare it right now."

I tried to think of a way to counter what he had said, but he was right. If the idea was truly repulsive to me I'd probably tell him that outright and then leave.

"Assume what you wish," was my affirmative answer.

"Ha," he continued smirking until he was now beaming.

I felt the blood rush to my face for some unknown reason. My knees were also slightly weak.

"Excellent!" he declared in good spirits. "Wait until Potter hears this!"

And instead of retorting in the usual way, I let him devise his plots. At least this time I'd know what he'd be plotting.

* * *

The next week overtook me with a tide of work. I had no spare time – not even a spare half-hour to breathe. It almost seemed as if the professors had decided to give us as much work as possible before our trip to Hogsmeade. As a result, I had also been unable to go to the Room of Requirement. I yearned to return to my book on the Dark Arts to see the next page of reading, but it was impossible for me to do so.

"I have to say that I am mildly impressed with you as a class," McGonagall spoke in her usual tone. "You have somehow managed to survive the barrage of work that we have been giving you this week in preparation for your N.E.W.T examinations."

I knew it had been a conspiracy!

"As a result, I do think that you deserve a day's rest from homework, especially since your trip is tomorrow. As I am one of the accompanying professors on the trip, I should see you there! Now go along to your next class."

"It was nice of Professor McGonagall to give us a break," Colin said cheerfully.

"Yes, it was," it was interesting to me that she had considering she was usually one of the professors who assigned the most work.

After lunch, I unfortunately had Double Potions. We were to have a practical Potion's test today where we would have to brew a Confusing Concoction without the use of our books. I already knew how this class would go. To add insult to injury, I had heard that the Slytherin sixth years had been allowed to use their books and even collaborate with each other while making the potion.

After eating lunch and suffering through the first half hour of Potions, Snape was really getting on my nerves.

"Weasley! You are stirring too quickly! Five points from Gryffindor."

"Weasley! You were supposed to add a raven's claw, not an eagle's beak, 5 points from Gryffindor."

"Weasley! You were to add an inchworm, not earthworm! 15 points from Gryffindor!"

I had had it up to my head with his comments. Worst of all the other Gryffindor students seemed to be blaming me (through obvious glances of disappointment) for all the points we were losing.

Fortunately, a raven claw student who had Neville's aptitude in potions seemed to distract him from me.

Luckily in the end my potion was "barely tolerable" and I passed the examination. I was also happy that we didn't have any homework to complete.

With my homework load now significantly reduced, I decided to go to the Room of Requirement and take the book out for reading. When I walked into the room, it was scarlet and gold. I was relieved that Malfoy wasn't there. I'd had too much stress from Snape already to deal with Malfoy's antics.

When I pulled the book out of the shelf, I noticed that there was something placed between one of the pages. When I opened the book, a piece of folded parchment was placed on last page that I had been reading. I opened the parchment intently and read the elegant script that materialized onto it:

_Meet me at 10:00 AM tomorrow under the tree in front of the Quidditch pitch._

I was surprised that Malfoy could write so elegantly. I placed the parchment back into the book and took the book to my room.

* * *

I arrived under the tree at 9:55. I didn't want to be late for my appointment with Malfoy. As I sat down on the glistening white snow my mind began to drift. I remembered the times that Harry and I had played together on the Gryffindor team, how we used to eat lunch together in the Great Hall, how we used to meet one another in the Common Room and talk for hours about nothing in particular…

"Weaslette."

I was startled back into reality. I looked up immediately to see Malfoy standing in front of me. Today he wore black winter robes which made his eyes stand out more.

"Malfoy," I replied a bit flustered.

"Thinking about Potter again?" he offered his hand to me to lift me up.

"I-," I took his hand and didn't answer.

"What more would I expect of you Weaslette?" he replied, but his tone was neither sarcastic nor patronizing. Rather, he seemed sympathetic and understanding.

I was starting to think that I was seeing a mirage. "So Mr. Vengence, what's the plan?" I changed the subject quickly as we began to walk to the front of the school.

"Yes, the plan," that mischievous gleam returned to his eyes. "Well, the plan starts quite simply."

"Does it?" I was only half listening.

"First we have to make Potter jealous, but make it convincing to everyone else as well."

"I don't like where you're going with this Malfoy."

"You agreed to this," he looked at me seriously.

"Yes, but- "

"I don't have time for your pride now Ginevra," he told me matter-of-factly.

"I've never seen you this serious about anything," I replied, still not convinced.

"I'm serious about most things," he answered coolly. "First, we will have other upper years observe us exiting the castle together."

"Okay," that I could handle.

"Then, we'll take things as they come."

As we approached the entrance, I began to feel nervous. Walking to Hogsmeade with Malfoy was no small feat. I knew it would instantly create rumours that would cause Ron and Harry to come after Malfoy immediately.

"Here we go," I told myself.

Malfoy and I walked into sight of all the upper years leaving the castle. The effect was immediate. The other students had several reactions. They stared at us wide-eyed, began whispering to their neighbours or ignored us altogether. I was just hoping that Ron or Harry weren't in sight… and especially _not_ Hermione.

Luckily for us none of them were here and we walked straight to Hogsmeade.

"So, what now brilliant mastermind?" I asked sarcastically.

"Nothing in particular, we just act normally," he answered shortly.

I was surprised at how seriously he was taking this. It was almost like a military operation to him.

It was cold as we approached Hogsmeade, and I suggested that we both go get a Butterbeer to warm up. Surprisingly, Malfoy agreed.

"You drink those?" I asked him. I almost thought he drank liquid gold for what his family was worth.

"Ha! Weasley, I am _human_ although I know that's difficult for one of your stature to imagine."

For some reason, his comment didn't bother me at all. I almost felt as if it were friendly banter.

I was beginning to feel comfortable with being outside with him in public except, of course, for the looming fear that he would be cursed in the back of the head as soon as Harry, Ron or Hermione saw him. They would obviously assume it was _his_ doing and that he was somehow manipulating me to get to Harry. What they wouldn't anticipate is that I willingly came with him.

We sat down in the Three Broomsticks. I could tell that the students behind us were already talking about it.

"Two Butterbeers," he ordered in his usual drawl.

By the time I reached for my purse, there were already three Galleons on the table.

"If you even think of it Weasley, I _will_ curse you," he threatened me.

"I'm not letting you pay for this Malfoy," I retorted.

"Why not?" he replied seriously.

"_I'm not_ that's why!" The thought of having _Malfoy_ of all people pay for me was too horrible to endure.

"Really Weaslette, you don't have to be afraid of this turning into a date. I pay everything for everyone I'm with."

I almost choked on my Butterbeer. "Like I would date you for a Butterbeer."

"Everyone has a price Weasley," he continued solemnly, "yours just happens to be Potter's jealousy."

"I don't know who you've dated in the past ferret," I retorted agitatedly, "but I do not go out with people for a _price_ – I do so because they interest me."

"So then I interest you?" He looked at me with skepticism, but there was a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"I'm not dating you Malfoy, I'm here for a reason."

He didn't respond as he continued drinking his Butterbeer.

After the Three Broomsticks, I tried my best to steer away from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. I didn't want to know how that confrontation would turn out with all the objects available in that store.

We continued walking until we reached the outskirts of town.

"I've never seen the Shrieking Shack before," I told Malfoy.

"I've been inside," he replied.

"That would be interesting," I added. I had wanted to go since I was young.

We walked down the trail and ended up in front of the Shrieking Shack.

"It's not really haunted," Malfoy told me, "It's just a rumour."

"How do you know?"

"I do," was his answer. I could tell he didn't want to elaborate.

"Weaslette, there's something I should tell you," Malfoy said slowly.

"What?" I answered.

"I–," he looked at me now with a hesitance in his eyes that I'd never seen before. He paused before looking away. "Potter's supposed to be in there right now."

"That's not what you were going to tell me," I said softly.

He continued looking away. "That's exactly what I was going to tell you. I brought you here to show Potter that we're–"

"No, I brought you here to have you show me the place," I corrected him.

"It makes no difference," he replied.

"Yes it does. One makes you look guilty," I answered.

"Forget the details Weas–"

"Why should I? You shouldn't be making yourself out to be a bigger prat than you are."

"Are you _defending_ me?" he asked incredulously.

"Not _defending,_ just correcting," I added a bit miffed that I _was_ defending him.

"Then perhaps I should tell you," he drawled in an overconfident manner.

"What? Your perfect plan to destroy Harry?" I asked sarcastically.

"Not exactly," he smirked.

His teeth dazzled perfectly and his eyes were full of warmth. I looked away from him, but I couldn't understand why. I felt the skin on my cheeks burn slightly. Even I had to admit that Malfoy looked really hot when he smiled.

The next thing I knew Malfoy had pulled me around and was inches away from my face.

"I should tell you," he continued in a soft melodic whisper, "that I _have_ wanted you since the minute I laid eyes on you."

"You really think that I'd fall for that again?" I asked remembering the last time he told me this.

"I never said that I was lying the first time. I only said that you were suggestible," he reminded me.

"Give it a rest Mal-" I began.

I was abruptly stopped by the heat of his lips against mine. My heart pounded in my chest and my knees felt weak as I felt his arms envelop me in a tight embrace. He pushed me back slowly against a tree that had been a foot away from us. I tried feebly to push him away, but a part of me knew that wasn't what I really wanted…

A part of me knew that if I had really wanted him to stop, I never would have come to Hogsmeade with him.

I was surprised at how hard his chest was and how built he was; yet his touch was soft and caressing.

I don't know how long we stayed like that; all I knew was how it stopped.

A spell went ricocheting past Malfoy's head and missed him by only an inch, scrapping some bark off the tree.

"_YOU BLOODY BASTARD! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!_"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the long cliffhanger! I went on vacation and forgot to finish it up. As I said, I will finish this story because I personally dislike it when other people leave stories hanging. Anyway, without further ado, here is the chapter! (I started and finished it in the Amsterdam airport!)

* * *

"_YOU BLOODY BASTARD! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!_"

My blood froze in horror as I heard that voice. That voice was much more terrifying than the spell I had just seen rebound off the tree.

Hermione Granger stood there with her wand pointed firmly toward Malfoy's chest.

_Oh God, of all people…it had to be her!_

Hermione, the one who had taken care of me and nursed me back to health, now saw me betraying her trust in the worst possible way.

"Hermione! It's not – it's not what it looks like!" I tried to tell her while stumbling over my words.

"Malfoy! Get away from her **now**," I had never heard her voice so threatening.

Malfoy didn't seem the least bit unnerved. He glanced at me briefly before stepping away. I could tell that the only reason he didn't retort was because he knew it would bother me if he did.

"Ginny, come here now!" her voice was stern. She reminded me of mum.

"Hermione, calm down please," I pleaded. "It's not what you think."

"So you mean to tell me that _he_ hasn't manipulated you into becoming a pawn?" she snapped. "You mean to tell me you came here on you own?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," I answered in a low voice.

Malfoy looked stunned. It seemed as if he thought I would just go away with her willingly.

"Ginny, don't you see? You're just a pawn in his game!" Hermione was still angry and had not lowered her wand even a millimeter.

"He may have suggested this to me," I answered honestly, "but I am a _willing_ pawn in his game."

"You don't understand–" Hermione started.

"No, you don't understand! Do you know what it felt like to be betrayed by the one man you ever loved? Do you know what it's like to feel so broken that you don't want to wake up?! Do you know what it's like not to have a choice?!"

Hermione was in shock.

"Malfoy told me everything and gave me a choice - a choice that Harry never gave me! Malfoy was there when Harry left me. What's so difficult to understand?"

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Don't you get it? He's controlling you!"

"No! Harry was controlling me by leaving me without a choice to 'protect' me. If he no longer cared for me, I wouldn't have had a problem. But to break up with me under those circumstances-"

"He did it for you, for your safety," she replied in a soft voice.

"That's exactly what any Gryffindor would say," I answered in an equally soft voice.

She looked at me, stunned.

"Another Gryffindor could never understand my pain, because they idolize Harry," I answered softly. "I don't blame you for thinking the way you do, in fact I anticipated it. That's why I-"

"Turned to the enemy," she finished lowering her wand slightly. "Ginny, I understand that you were hurt, but you can't cope with it this way. This isn't right!"

"Why? Because he's a Slytherin?" I answered coolly.

"No, it's because he's only out to get Harry," she replied. "He's using you."

"I thought that at first as well," I answered honestly, "but then I realized that he wasn't."

"This can't happen Ginny," Hermione shook her head. "It can't. You'll only get hurt."

"Allow her to make her own decisions Granger," Malfoy spoke. "You will just alienate her if you push your values onto her," he answered in a protective tone that I had never heard from him before.

"_YOU PRAT_!" she said in a deadly voice as she raised her wand again. "You have no right to an opinion after what you've done!"

"You, Potter and Weasley are the reason she turned to me," he continued. "Your heroic ideals are to blame."

Without a word, but with a blast of light from her wand, a deep cut materialized onto Malfoy's face.

"You fowl slug!" she yelled.

"Miss Granger! What on Earth?" McGonagall came out of no where to the scene. "What is going on here?" She looked between the three of us and the situation became apparent to her. "Miss Granger! Miss Weasley's affairs are none of your concern!"

"Professor, you don't understand-"

"I understand very well Miss Granger. Fifty points from Gryffindor and detention for a month. I don't ever want to see this type of behaviour from you again!" I had never seen McGonnagall so angry. "Now leave here at once!"

"Ginny, get your head on straight!" Hermione yelled to me before she turned and left, visibly upset.

"Mr. Malfoy, you had better get that cut checked. I would advise you to return to Hogwarts."

Malfoy didn't answer, but I could tell that he agreed.

"Miss Weasley, you should consider yourself lucky that it wasn't Mr. Potter who saw you today," she commented before walking away.

I almost shuddered at the thought.

I turned to look at Malfoy. The wound was deep. It was a diagonal slash across his face that started near the tip of his nose and ran down to the edge of his chin.

"Malfoy… I'm so sorry," I apologized. "This all happened because of me."

"I knew the risks Weaslette," he replied by materializing a handkerchief from the air and pushing down on his wound. "But I never thought Granger would be so lethal."

I couldn't help but smile at that remark though I quickly stopped when I saw how much he was bleeding. "We need to get you out of here."

"Yes, that would be wise."

We took a carriage back to Hogwarts and immediately went to Madame Pomfrey.

"Oh my goodness! What on Earth happened here?" she asked surprised.

It is never a good sign when a nurse is surprised.

"I'm not sure exactly," he still seemed to be surprised by Hermione's actions.

"How many times must I tell the students – do _not_ duel one another!"

"He wasn't dueling," I replied.

Madame Pomfrey looked at me strangely, as if she had just noticed that I was standing there. Everyone seemed to be giving me that look whenever I was next to Malfoy.

"I think the situation makes more sense now," she replied with the slightest hint of mischief.

_Was it really that obvious?_

"Don't stand there Mr. Malfoy, lie down!" she practically dragged him over to the bed. "And start drinking this immediately!" she placed a giant bottle of green liquid on his bedside table. "Take one glass every hour. You'll have to miss classes for the next few days because the recovery is painful. And you –" she turned to me, "you'll have to leave. The process of healing deep wounds in a few days is no easy task!"

"Just a few minutes," I answered her softly. She nodded her head before leaving after drawing the curtain around us. The curtain was mainly to protect against rumours that other students would start.

"Will you be okay here alone?" I asked.

"No Weaslette, I think I'll die of loneliness," he answered before rolling his eyes.

"All right then," I turned away from him a bit, before suddenly turning back around and pecking him on the cheek before running away.

The last expression I saw on his face was astonishment.

* * *

I had known that the next few days were going to be difficult because of the rumours, but I hadn't anticipated how bad it was going to be. It seems that every Gryffindor in Hogwarts had gotten wind of my indiscretion and they were all appalled by it. Whenever I would walk into the room they would either stop talking or ignore me all together. Even my friends no longer wanted much to do with me – they would only speak to me with the basic necessities of conversation. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students seemed to act the same way, but were slightly more tolerant of me.

In essence, most Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflelpuff students thought I was a traitor.

The Slytherins reacted differently. The female students in Slytherin house suddenly disliked me and would either give me horrible glances or laugh when I walked by them. Slytherin men would look at me with distain, and then return to their conversations.

_Why exactly did my personal life have to be broadcasted to the whole school?_

_Because I was once Harry Potter's girlfriend._

I didn't see Harry or Ron at all over those few days. I figured that Harry, Ron and Hermione had locked themselves away in the Room of Requirement so that Harry wouldn't act on the impulse to murder the ferret who had 'taken' his ex-girlfriend (who he still cared about).

I once saw Hermione, but she simply turned away from me quickly after accidently seeing me.

So I was isolated from everyone, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering I had mountains of homework and had to prepare for my N.E.W.T. exams.

After many intense study sessions and a massive headache as a result, I needed some social interaction. I figured that since no one else was interested, there was only one person I could comfortably talk to.

I visited Malfoy two days after the incident.

"How have you been Malfoy?" I asked curiously. I could see that the wound has mostly healed, but that there was still some more to go.

"Same as usual," he replied, sitting upright in his bed.

I was surprised to see that there were textbooks on his bedside table – he must have fought Madame Pomfrey to bring those.

"Why is it that you always call me Malfoy?" he asked with his usual mischievous air.

"Why is it that you call me Weaslette?" I answered.

"Ha, so it seems we will never move past this stage," he seemed pensive in a way that I had never seen him before.

"Has the bed-rest gone to your head Malfoy?" I asked.

"There it is again," he said.

"What?"

"Malfoy," he replied.

I had been trying to avoid this topic, but it seemed that he wouldn't let it go.

"What would you like me to call you? Ferret?" I joked.

"Would Draco be such an outlandish suggestion?" he asked.

I couldn't believe that I had lived to hear those words. Only months ago I despised him, yet now we might be on a first name basis.

"That would mean you would have to call me Ginny," I answered in a hesitant tone.

"Would that also be such an outlandish suggestion?" he asked looking me in eye.

"I think you are suffering side effects from this liquid," I looked toward the bottle, trying to read the label on it. I was momentarily preoccupied with that. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he was now standing.

"Would it be so outlandish to suggest that you become my girlfriend?"

I stopped breathing. "Girl… friend…?" I was completely stunned.

"Yes," he answered.

"Malfoy-," I paused knowing that he didn't want me to call him that. "I think you're misunderstanding the situation," I told him seriously.

"How so?" his eyes suddenly seemed guarded.

"We were supposed to be doing this to get Harry's attention, not to…" I stopped. What I said sounded harsh, but that had always been the plan from the start.

He moved away from me slowly. I couldn't read his facial expression anymore. "So you still love him then?"

"Yes," I answered quickly, but something felt off.

"I see," he began to stare blankly at the wall.

"What are you thinking?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "Potter will surely be yours now," he answered. "He won't be able to tolerate the idea of us being together… he'll probably curse me and then ask you to come back to him."

"You think so?" I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Yes," he answered. Then he looked at me with something I'd never seen before in his eyes – defeat and utter sadness.

I was caught off guard by his expression.

"The plan worked Weaslette," he smiled sadly. "You've won Potter back."

What was wrong here? Why was he acting like this? Wasn't I just a part of his plan? Shouldn't he be rejoicing that he caused Harry so much pain? Or did he want me to become his girlfriend to cause Harry more pain? If that's what he wanted, why didn't he come out and suggest it?

My subconscious was trying to tell me something, but I knew I couldn't understand what it was because the concept was unfathomable to me.

"Goodbye Weaslette," he touched my hand softly for a moment. Then suddenly he pulled me toward him and kissed me with raw passion.

I had never been kissed that way in my life.

My heart fluttered in my chest and my cheeks burned up. His hands moved along the small of my back as if they craved to be there for an eternity. His lips were soft and yet moved with a swiftness I couldn't imagine. His fingers wrapped around my hips in a way I had never thought possible…

I was consumed by him. His touch, his lips and his embrace set my blood on fire.

Eventually he pulled away from me and it was only then that I realized I needed to breathe.

"Goodbye Ginny."

I couldn't understand what I was feeling or what was happening. All I could do was walk away.

* * *

I walked back to Gryffindor tower in a daze. My mind was shut off. I couldn't process anything.

"Ginny."

My heart stopped. I turned around.

There out of the shadows came Harry Potter.

"Ginny, I'm sorry," Harry came and hugged me. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I never realized how hurt you were… I knew that you were very sad, but I didn't realize that you had come to resent me."

_Harry's arms… around me again?_

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he couldn't stop apologizing.

_Harry's touch…_

"I'll never do that to you again. I promise."

_Harry's voice…_

He kissed me softly, in an apologetic sort of way.

I stopped thinking and returned his kiss.

* * *

"Did you hear?"

"No what is it?"

"Ginny Weasley, played Harry Potter with Draco Malfoy!"

"No! You're kidding!"

"Yes, and then Harry took her back because he couldn't stand the thought of her being with that prat!"

"I don't believe you."

"It's only a rumour."

"My friend's friend saw Ginny visiting the hospital wing when Malfoy was sick."

"Sounds suspicious."

"My cousin's friend saw Harry and Ginny kiss!"

"So you're telling me the super-couple is back on?"

"Ya, Harry and Ginny are together again!"

"It doesn't make up for what she did…"

"But maybe she only did it to win him back."

"Desperate isn't she?"

"Willing to date a snake for Harry Potter? I'd do it!"

* * *

Despite the rumours, I wasn't "back" with Harry Potter. We shared that one kiss and hardly saw one another again. I became busy with my N.E.W.T exams, and he became busy with qualifying exams. We had seen each other once and said hello, but beyond that, nothing happened.

Why wasn't I pursuing him more often? I knew he was in the library every lunch hour and I could have easily studied with him, but I chose to stay in Gryffindor Tower. I knew that he ate dinner in the Great Hall later than most students, but I chose to go earlier to eat. I knew that he would stay up late in Gryffindor Tower during nights to study, but I would confine myself to the library during those times. What was wrong with me?

It was eight days after our last kiss when I talked to him again in the corridor.

"Ginny, I was just wondering if you'd like to go for lunch sometime?" Harry asked nervously, almost as if he were asking me out on our first date.

"Oh… that would be-" I stopped mid-sentence.

Walking down the hallway was Draco Malfoy. Harry couldn't see him yet because he was behind him.

My mind went blank. The only thing I could remember was the way Malfoy kissed me for the last time.

_Then it hit me. I craved him. His touch, his lips, his eyes, his voice… I felt like I had craved him forever... as if I had never been kissed before he kissed me._

I was in love with him.

I had fallen in love with him while trying to win back Harry.

Draco looked at me in surprise when he saw that I was looking at him. His walking pace became slower, and he didn't break his gaze away from mine.

I finally realized what my subconscious had been trying to tell me: Malfoy _was_ in love with me. He had always loved me. He had created this plan to have me.

_Draco loved me…_

"Ginny?" Harry couldn't understand what had happened, and he turned around to see what I was looking at.

I couldn't see his face, but I knew Harry well enough to know what he was feeling.

Hatred – pure hatred.

He reached for his wand on impulse.

I ran toward Draco.

"Confri-," he began.

I grabbed Draco and kissed him harder than I had ever kissed any man in my life. He did the same.

Harry stopped mid chant.

"**YOU BASTARD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!**" Harry yelled. "**HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANIPULATE HER?!**"

I stopped kissing Draco and prepared to face Harry Potter.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update. It wasn't that I forgot about this story – I had penned a plot on September 7, 2012, but the chapter just didn't feel right. It actually took me this long to figure out how to write this chapter. Today it suddenly hit me and I continued what I had started in September. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review to tell me how you liked it! Thank you for reading this far and let me know if you want me to start another fanfic – I'll take suggestions!

* * *

"He didn't manipulate me Harry," I answered back, slightly out of breath.

"You don't understand Ginny, you're being used!"

"I love him!" I answered impulsively.

Harry's eyes widened. His mouth dropped.

I couldn't believe what I had just said. I covered my mouth.

Draco was astounded. He had no words.

"You… love…" Harry stopped.

"I was trying to win you back," I began to cry. "But then I fell in love with him."

Harry stared at the ground in a daze. He looked broken beyond all words.

Draco couldn't speak. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're only going to get hurt," Harry whispered. "He's going to leave you."

"No Harry," I answered in a soft voice. "He's in love with me too."

Harry shook his head.

"I've always loved her," Draco said. "Even before she ever met you."

I looked at him puzzled. What did he mean by that?

"If this is what you want… to get used and have your heart broken, then go ahead," Harry's voice was full of spite and pain. "You would have been happy with me Ginny, I was perfect for you."

"I would have been happy with you if I had never known Draco," I answered.

Harry clenched his fist, turned around, and walked away.

I avoided looking at Draco. I was well aware of the eyes that were watching us intently after the conversation that had just taken place.

As I looked down, I noticed that Draco was coming closer to me. I then realized that he was coming _too_ close considering that everyone was watching us. I backed up slowly before shortly realizing that I was pinned up to the wall.

He kissed me without an ounce of hesitation. I kissed him back without the least bit of hesitation as well.

My mind faintly registered the other students cat-calling around us. Quite frankly, I didn't give a damn.

"Ginny, you have no idea how long I've wanted you," he told me pulling away from me only enough for him to speak.

I smiled without realizing it. "I've wanted to hold you for so long," I answered. "I realize now that I've only ever wanted to have you since I broke up with him."

He leaned in closer to me, as if he were about to kiss me but then stopped. "Let's take this elsewhere shall we?"

I could feel that my face was crimson as he held my hand and led me out of the hallway.

* * *

I couldn't leave my room for three days afterward for two reasons: one was that I was so embarrassed by what everyone had seen in the hallway between Draco and I and the other was that I was fearing for my life in Gryffindor Tower after what had just happened. Draco was seen as the sworn nemesis of the mighty Harry Potter, and I'd just dumped our supreme ruler for him.

I blushed when I thought of that day. I wanted to see him again, but with the present situation that seemed impossible.

"Weaslette!"

Wow, now I was hearing his voice.

"Come down here would you?"

Okay, now I was having delusions.

"Ginny!"

Why was I hearing Mal-Draco's voice?

I hopped out of bed away from my books to go downstairs. There, in the middle of Gryffindor Tower was none other than Draco Malfoy himself – his handsome self – clad in emerald green and silver robes with his blonde hair shinning against the fireplaces light.

He was surrounded by a ring of Gryffindors who looked as if they wanted to curse him into oblivion.

"D-Draco?!" I called in surprise. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get my girlfriend," he replied with a smirk.

Did he really want to die that badly?

"Come, let's go," I rushed down the stairs and pulled him out of the Common Room before someone could actually hex him.

"What was that about? And how did you-"

His hands were around my waist then, and his lips sealed mine. I wanted to stop him considering where we were standing, but I knew that would be impossible considering how much self-control I had.

"Can't I get my girlfriend when I need to?" he asked in a mischievous tone.

"I wouldn't suggest you do it like that," I answered my cheeks filling with crimson again as two appalled Gryffindors walked by.

"Then what would you suggest?"

"I would suggest that you-," I stopped mid-sentence in shock.

Draco Malfoy was down on one knee in front of me.

Wow, I must have been crazy to think that. He was probably just trying to joke with me and make me think what every girl thought when a man went down on one knee in front of her.

And then he pulled out a small emerald box.

"Ginevra Weasley," he began.

My heart pounded like it was made of lead.

"Would you-,"

I felt like I was about to fall over.

"Try on these earrings for me?"

I didn't know whether to kill him or smile.

When he opened the box I saw a glimmering diamond ring staring back at me.

* * *

My mother dropped the veil over my head. I snapped out of my memories and stared back at my twenty-five year old self in the long mirror ahead of me. The white gown flowed around me as water around a mermaid. My fire-red hair offset the white wedding dress nicely. I blushed slightly at the thought of marrying him.

Luckily, it had been eight years since our engagement – more than enough time for our families to digest their anger toward our union. At first they were angry (Fred had punched Draco across the face when he first heard), then they were determined that it wouldn't last (for the first two years) and then somehow, within the past few years, they settled into the realization that we were actually serious and would be together indefinitely.

I could hardly believe that my entire family was attending this wedding. Luckily, after all of the preceding violence and chaos surrounding the knowledge of our relationship there was no way either of us could get cold feet. Actually, we both knew that the scariest part of the relationship was right after we went public with the engagement news. The wedding would be a piece of cake. The fact that everyone in our families had somehow survived despite knowing our about our relationship was proof enough that we were serious. If there had been a time for the relationship to end, it would have been six to eight years ago.

"Are you ready?" Mom asked me hesitantly. I could tell that there was the smallest bit of hope in her voice that I would give her the bouquet and run away screaming.

"Of course," I answered.

Can you believe I even got dad to walk me down the aisle? Despite being a bit more stiff than he should have been, he seemed happy for me. Strangely enough, he had warmed up to Draco over the years (though he would never admit it).

"Good luck my dear," he told me behind the closed door of our house as he kissed me on the forehead.

"Thank you dad," I had to hold back tears. The fact that everyone could be a part of this day was more than anything I could have asked for.

As the backdoors of our house opened and I saw my Draco at the end of aisle, I knew that I had made the right decision. His glimmering blonde hair still set my heart ablaze and his warm silver eyes showed me the depths of his love. I knew in my heart that I would only want him until my final day…

The End


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